Tanga Port’s upgrade nearing completion

Tanga. The renovation and upgrading project of the Tanga Port has reached 91 percent completion, with the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) forecasting that it would be completed in April this year.

The Tanga Port manager, Mr Masoud Mrisha, made the revelation, noting that the port improvement aims at increasing efficiency as well as decongesting the Port of Dar es Salaam.

The upgrading and renovation project at the cost of Sh428 billion was funded by the government by 100 percent.

The carried works on the project include increasing the depth of the gate used for both entry and turning of ships, and improving berths 1 and 2. Speaking to The Citizen, Mr Mrisha said the completion of the upgrading and renovation project will significantly decongest the Dar es Salaam Port.

“Once the port becomes fully operational, it will attain the capacity of handling three million metric tonnes of cargo as compared to the previous 750,000 metric tonnes,” he said.

Furthermore, he said before commencing the renovation and upgrade project, ships used to dock at 1.7 metres, but its completion will allow ships to dock at the 450-metre berth, where they will efficiently undertake cargo loading and unloading.

He said the project is being implemented by the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) in two phases.

“While over Sh172 billion has been used for the execution of the first phase, over Sh256 billion is being utilised during the implementation of the second phase, which is slated for completion in April of this year,” he said.

According to him, a team of officials from the Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) headquarters recently toured to inspect the progress of the project and expressed complete satisfaction. He urged Tanzanian traders, especially those from the northern regions, to start making better use of the port by increasing the volume of freight passing through it.

“I should allay fears that traders shouldn’t expect inconveniences to be recorded as they were in the past, especially during the off-loading of cargo,” he said.

Speaking on the project, the CHEC deputy project manager, Mr Shichang Frank, said the first phase involved increasing the depth of the gate used for both entry and turning of ships, and improving berths 1 and 2.

He said the new specification shows that the gate will be 1.7 kilometre long and 73 metres wide.

Furthermore, he said the first phase also involved the provision of the working equipment, such as cranes, folk lifts, tractors, and several others.

“Before the renovation and upgrading, the berth had a length of three to four metres which was too short to allow large ships to dock at the port,” he said.

“The second phase involves the construction of a new berth, the installation of electrical systems, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) as well as water and fire-fighting systems,” he added.

For his part, the project consultant contractor, Mr Abdallah Othmani, said the renovation and upgrading project was a strategy aimed at improving services provided to clients from the northern and central zones as well as neighbouring countries.

“Not only will the port ease freight transportation to neighbouring countries, but also it will simplify communication to the Port of Dar es Salaam, which is located 354 kilometres to the south,” he said.

The project contract was signed in July 2020 between TPA and CHEC, and execution commenced in September 2020.

Activities undertaken during the project implementation include increasing the depth of the gate used for both entry and turning of ships, and improving berths 1 and 2.

Reaching April 2022, the government said, the project had been implemented by 40 percent, the percentage that has increased to 91 percent.

The Port is also continuing with preparation for the construction of the berth that would be used for receiving oil from Uganda through the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP).

The project is being developed from Hoima in Uganda to Chongoleani in Tanga.

Located on the northern coast of the Indian Ocean, close to the border with Kenya, Tanga Port is the longest-serving port in East Africa, according to the TPA.

Apart from serving the northern regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Manyara, and the Lake Zone, it serves the neighbouring countries of Rwanda, Burundi and the northern part of Uganda.

Some of the respective northern regions are rich in coffee, horticulture, and tanzanite mining and are the heart of Tanzania’s wildlife safari in the northern circuit of tourism.

Tanzania uses this port for the importation of fuel for the above regions, making them enjoy different prices compared to other regions that use the ports of Dar es Salaam and Mtwara.